Used in a sentence: I was watching a cooking show during which the host used the word “finocchio” when referring to fennel then qualified it by saying, “It’s another word for fennel.” Just use the word fennel. Trying to sound all Italian and fancy just makes you look like a giant ass. Also, finocchio is Italian slang for homosexual so, in addition to sounding like a food snob, you could be insulting several groups of people for any number of reasons.